Michael Vick may be making the rounds bringing his anti-dog fighting message to Philadelphia school children, but there's one audience he is not interested in meeting with: his victims.

A pit bull advocacy group in Oakland, Calif. says Vick declined an invitation to visit eight of his former dogs this weekend when the Eagles take on the Oakland Raiders.

The group BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls) told The Associated Press it extended the invitation through the Eagles to Vick last week to view his former dogs that were part of the dog fighting operation at Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia.

BAD RAP co-founder Tim Racer said the group picked a location that would have allowed Vick to view the dogs from behind a window at a distance that satisfied the conditions of his parole that bar him from being near animals.

"We understand Vick is trying to right his wrongs and is very interested in redemption, but you can't find redemption without acknowledging your victims," Racer told the AP. "Making amends to the dogs themselves would have helped to create some closure for many of us, especially those people who worked so hard to keep them from being destroyed. It seems that Vick is not ready to go there."

Oakland-based BAD RAP brought 10 of Vick's dogs into its foster program after being given permission from the federal government to evaluate and rescue as many of the dogs as possible.

Sunday's game against the Raiders is the first road game for Vick since being reinstated to the NFL following an 18-month prison sentence for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. The animal rights group, In Defense of Animals plans to stage a protest before the game, saying Vick has not shown remorse for his actions.

Former Lehigh County kennel owner Derbe Eckhart is planning to drop his guilty plea on animal cruelty charges. The Morning Call of Allentown has the latest. Morning Call columnist Bill White has a nice take on Eckhart's argument that he was in fact trying to "save animals from abuse." Eckhart, former owner of Almost Heaven kennel, pleaded guilty last month to two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and five violations of the state’s dog law. Eckhart, twice convicted on cruelty charges before, faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $7,500 when he is sentenced Nov. 16. In June, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement removed 216 dogs from the kennel after Eckhart lost an emergency appeal of his kennel license revocation. A raid at the Emmaus property last year by the Pennsylvania SPCA exposed horrendous conditions inside the kennel where as many as 800 animals, also including cats, horses, birds and guinea pigs, were found living in filthy, crowded cages and kennels.

Jury selection is set to begin Jan. 25 in Sullivan County for Laura Antretter (aka Lauren Wolf), owner of Autumnbriar kennel, who after being raided earlier this year, spent two weeks on the lam and returned to face 76 counts of animal cruelty and 30 dog law violations. Humane officials and dog wardens twice raided her kennel and found a number of dead animals, including eight Jack Russell terriers, five Lurcher puppies. an adult Lurcher, and a goat. The surviving animals were in poor condition, had no food or water and were living in feces-filled cages. Antretter's kennel license had been revoked in 2008 and under state law was permitted to own only 25 animals. Her court-appointed lawyer was granted leave and Antretter will represent herself, according to court documents.

There is word of a possible plea deal in the case of Chester County veterinarian Tom Stevenson who was charged with animal cruelty after two undercover witnesses in March saw him cut off the tail off a puppy - with no anesthesia - as he held it under hot water at a kennel. The incident occurred at Sam King's Country Lane Kennel in Lancaster County. King, whose kennel license was recently revoked, has long history of dog law violations and also was charged with animal cruelty in the case, but the charge was dismissed. District Justice Stuart Mylin in July found that there was enough evidence against Stevenson to hold him over for trial. A pre-trial conference was held yesterday in Lancaster, during which the case was returned to Mylin's court, but it is unclear why. Neither the charging agency- the Pennsylvania SPCA - nor the Lancaster County District Attorney's office are responding to requests for comment.

Animal welfare advocates were up in arms over a plan to allow puppy mill operators amnesty from prosecution on cruelty charges if they turned their unwanted dogs over to shelters participating in the apparently short-lived Safe Harbor program. Prosecutors point out that only they have the authority to offer immunity. The Safe Harbor program, a joint effort by the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association and the Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania, was formed to save dogs that might otherwise be destroyed as breeders downsized or closed as a result of the tougher state kennel regulations. The idea was that participating humane societies would take in the unwanted dogs and the PVMA would provide volunteer veterinary services for them. While shelters are taking in dogs from commercial kennels - some in desperate need of costly veterinary care - the PVMA has pulled the plug on the program and erased all references to it from its Web site.

On the topic of tougher kennel regulations, the Department of Agriculture holds a hearing tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the agency's headquarters in Harrisburg on the proposed Canine Health Board regulations. The board - whose members are all veterinarians - was formed largely at the behest of the PVMA and dog breeders in order to secure passage of the new dog law last year. Its task was to set first-ever standards for humidity, temperature, lighting, ammonia levels and ventilation in large commercial kennels. Scheduled to testify are: Walt Peechatka, lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Professional Dog Breeders Association, Dr. Kenneth Lavan, of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, Tom Hickey of DogPac, Helen Ebersole of United Against Puppy Mills and Cori Menkin of the ASPCA.
 

What if the dogs really ruled the world?

Check out the band You Scream, I Scream's video for their single "Dog." The music is infectious and the dog's-eye-view of adoption theme tugs at your heart strings.

The following are some of the recent cases investigated by the Pennsylvania SPCA. Headquartered at 350 E. Erie Avenue in Philadelphia, the PSPCA operates five branches throughout the state. For more information, call 215-426-6300 or visit www.pspca.org. To report animal cruelty call 1-866-601-SPCA.

Horses, dogs seized in western PA raid

Aliquippa Township, Beaver County. Oct 12. PSPCA humane officers executed a search warrant and rescued three adult horses, one foal and seven dogs from a property. Three deceased cats were also found in the house on the property. Officers were alerted to the case of alleged animal cruelty and neglect by a complainant who contacted the PSPCA’s cruelty hotline. In addition to the horses, foal and dogs, humane agents found the remains of a dead foal on the property, as well as three deceased cats in various stages of decomposition inside the house. It could not be determined how the animals died at the time of their discovery. The investigation is ongoing and no citations or charges have been filed at this time.

Philadelphia

Facing eviction, owner surrenders underweight animals

Robinson St., 2300 block. Sept. 25.  A PSPCA humane officer responded to a call from the Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT) that three dogs and three kittens at a property were in poor physical condition. The owner of the home was in the process of being evicted when the humane officer responded to the call and confirmed that all six animals were underweight and flea-infested. The owner surrendered all the animals over to the PSPCA.

Owner cited for keeping dogs kept in filthy yard with no shelter, food

Lehigh St., 100 Block. Sept. 18. A PSPCA humane officer responded to a complaint about dogs being leftout in the rear yard of the property without food and water. Upon arrival, the officer observed that the dogs - three female poodle/shih-tzu mixes between five and ten years old - appeared to be in poor physical condition. One dog had matted fur and another was missing fur on its hind end. The yard was covered with trash and debris and there was no access to food or shelter. The dogs did not have city license or rabies tags. When the officer returned to the property with a search warrant, the dogs were still in the yard with no access to food, water and shelter. The owner was cited for failure to provide food, water and shelter to the animals as well as failure to provide veterinary care and surrender the dogs to the PSPCA.

Hungry dogs left  behind when owner moves

N. Wanamaker St., 100 block. Sept. 18. A humane officer responded to a complaint about two mastiff /pit bull mixes that had been left behind at a property after the owners moved out. The officer found two dogs at the rear of the property. Both were so emaciated that their hips, ribs and spine structures could be seen. There was no food, water or shelter available for the dogs and there were unsanitary conditions in the yard. The officer then returned to the property with a warrant. The owner was present at that time and was cited for animal cruelty. The owner also surrendered the animals to the PSPCA.

Three emaciated dogs seized, owner charged

Willard St., 700 block. Sept. 11. A humane officer responded to a complaint received on the 24-hour cruelty hotline about an emaciated pit bull being kept in a yard. When the officer arrived, she found a starving, flea-infested pit bull mix in the rear yard of the property. A deceased dog was also found in a crate on the property. The crate was dirty with feces and flies were visible. The owner of the property also showed the officer the two pit bull mixes that were being kept in the basement. She claimed that the dogs did not belong to her and that someone else came in to take care of them. Both dogs were thin and secured to the basement’s concrete floor with heavy chains and collars. There was no food or water available for the dogs and there were unsanitary conditions observed. The three pit bull mixes were removed from the property and are being held in protective custody by the PSPCA, pending owner surrender. The humane officer issued three citations for animal cruelty to the owner of the property. A misdemeanor charge may also be issued, pending the results of the necropsy on the deceased dog.

Owner cited while surrending dogs

Camac St., 6000 block. Sept. 8. The owner of the two female shih-tzu mixes arrived at the PSPCA to surrender the dogs. Humane officers were called in to investigate when medical staff evaluated the dogs and found they were flea infested, dehydrated and emaciated and had possibly been exposed to a toxin. The owner stated that he had left his dogs inside his house while he bombed it for fleas. A citation was issued for animal cruelty and the dogs are currently being held in protective custody by the PSPCA. A court date is pending.

Here's the latest on the Michael Vick rehab tour courtesy of my Inquirer sports department colleagues, Jeff McLane and Bob Brookover:

Michael Vick was to appear at Germantown High this morning as part of his ongoing public penance. The Eagles quarterback has already made several appearances as local high schools.

"He's going to be talking to 100 members of Germantown High School about dogfighting and making poor decisions," Eagles spokeswoman Pamela Browner-Crawley said. "A lot of these organizations and schools reach out to us because they feel they have an issue and they feel that Michael has something to bring to the table. Quite frankly, when people see Michael, they see someone who is more like they are. It's hard for you and me to go some place and say how terrible we think something is. When Michael talks to them about it, I think they really hear it. It's almost like going to France and talking a person who speaks French with you."

The Eagles, meanwhile, announced the launching of their new initiative, the Eagles TAWK (Treating Animals With Kindness) community outreach program. TAWK is a new comprehensive community outreach initiative to reduce the abuse of animals, promote responsible adoption, encourage spay and neuter and put an end to dog fighting through increased public education and awareness.

The Eagles will provide a matching grant of $50,000 each for three initial programs: End Dogfighting Program, Low-cost Spay and Neuter Facility, and Mobile Veterinary Clinic.

"When we were putting together what our mission represented, these were the organizations we felt had impact," Browner-Crawley said. "The other part of it is there they had more impact and impacted a broader audience. At the same time, they are organizations that are not quite comfortable about stepping forward to work with the Eagles. They're concerned about donor-based issues because it was a very polarizing moment when we brought Michael Vick to town, so people are still trying to get over it. We're still talking and they're still trying to figure out with us how we can be helpful in helping them obtain their goals and objectives for each organization."

The Eagles today launched a $500,000 grant program to assist animal welfare organizations in the Philadelphia area and beyond.

That's about one-third of what the man who got a sports team into the animal welfare business -  Michael Vick  - will receive in the first year of his two-year contract.

The first three $50,000 matching grants were announced at a news conference this morning by team owner Christina Lurie and president Joe Banner.

They are:

End Dogfighting Program - The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will bring their grassroots, preventative method to tackle dog fighting to Philadelphia. Vick already has a role in that program. He has been speaking to inner city students here and elsewhere as part of a controversial arrangement he made with HSUS following his release from federal prison where he served 18 months for his role running a brutal dog fighting ring.  

Low-cost Spay and Neuter Facility - Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to support the construction of a low-cost spay and neuter facility in Philadelphia.

Mobile Veterinary Clinic - Berks County Humane Society (BCUS) to support their new mobile veterinary clinic that will serve neighborhoods in Reading, Chester and parts of Philadelphia, PA.

The Eagles also announced the launch of the Eagles TAWK series to bring animal experts to elementary and middle schools to educate children on responsible pet ownership, a public service campaign that will involve Eagles players advocating on animal welfare issues and a dedicated website through the www.philadelphiaeagles.com site.

The Eagles also will support animal welfare organizations in their fundraising and awareness programs by committing various Eagles personnel and resources to expand their efforts.

Thanks to Michael Vick, the Eagles have now officially joined the ranks of animal welfare advocates in Philadelphia.

The team later today is expected to announce details of their Treating Animals with Kindness (TAWK) program first reported in the Inquirer last month. Among the initiatives discussed to help local animal welfare groups combat dog fighting and pet overpopulation: a mobile spay/neuter van, public service announcements, trading cards of team members and their pets and public appearances by team members and cheerleaders.

Headlining the event - scheduled for 11 a.m. at the NovaCare complex -  is Eagles team owner Christina Lurie, president Jeff Banner and Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States.

While the Eagles top brass - after signing Michael Vick in August - pledged their commitment to help abused animals and curb dog fighting in Philadelphia, there is only one representative from a Philadelphia shelter involved: Dana Spain, president of Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). Also joining the group is Karel Minor, executive director of the Humane Society of Berks County, which, while it may deal with serious dog fighting issues in the city of Reading, is not considered part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Notably absent from the roster of partners is the Pennsylvania SPCA, which, as the city's animal control agency, takes in tens of thousands of unwanted and abused pit bulls every year and many are euthanized.

Also, not participating is another key player in the city's pit bull rescue network, Main Line Animal Rescue, which works with the PSPCA to help save adoptable pit bulls.

It's not clear what, if any role, Vick will play with the TAWK program. Vick has appeared at two Philadelphia area schools so far this season to deliver an anti-dog fighting message to students as part of an arrangement with the Humane Society of the United States.

Vick's arrival in Philadelphia in August touched off a wave of criticism from animal lovers and football fans, who felt the team betrayed them by signing someone convicted of running a brutal dog fighting ring and who admitted torturing and killing dogs who failed to win fights.

The animal rights group PETA is staging a protest outside a grocery store in Philadelphia at noon today as part of a protest against cruel practices in factory dairy farms.

One protester in a cow suit and another wearing a body-screen TV showing newly released video footage taken by a whistleblower at a Pennsylvania farm that supplies Land O'Lakes. There also will be a ceremonial "milk" dumping at the store - the ShopRite at 29 Snyder Ave.

The undercover video—which shows sick, exhausted cows struggling to stand and being forced to hobble through a massive build-up of their own waste— shows the filth and suffering goes into the production of milk and other dairy products. The cows suffered from painful infections and severe lameness, and animals were kept in miserable conditions and deprived of even basic care. Some of the animals went untreated and were not put out of their misery when they were in pain and unable to stand, PETA says.

PETA is urging people to drop dairy products from their diets and boycott Land O'Lakes.

PETA launched the investigation after a whistleblower working at the farm became concerned about conditions there and contacted PETA for help earlier this year. Investigators discovered cows who were sick and unable to move, were denied medical care despite being in pain, and were abused by the farm's owners, PETA said. The farm's owners—Lloyd Reitz Sr. and is son Andy Reitz of Shamokin, Northumberland County —have been charged with animal cruelty.

For its part, Land O'Lakes released the following statement that was published in the Republican-Standard newspaper:

"...It's important to emphasize that Land O'Lakes is strongly committed to the proper care and humane treatment of animals," she continued. "Land O'Lakes supports efforts to develop national sound animal care guidelines and to urge producers to adopt these guidelines to ensure humane treatment of animals by all segments of the livestock industry. We specifically support the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative."

Today marks the end of lifetime of confinement to small cages, of paw-destroying wire cage floors, of stacked cages as high as a barn roof, of outdoor rabbit hutches, and of no veterinary care for tens of thousands of dogs in commercial kennels in Pennsylvania.

New standards governing cage size, flooring, exercise and veterinary care go into effect today for the roughly 300 licensed commercial dog kennels, most of them in Lancaster County.

Under the dog law signed a year ago by Gov. Rendell, kennel operators who keep more than 59 dogs a year, or sell one or more dogs to a pet store, must house dogs in larger cages and provide daily exercise and regular veterinary care for breeding dogs. The new law also forbids cage stacking, prohibits wire flooring in cages and imposes kennel temperature requirements.

Kennel operators were given a year to make the changes, or longer if they received waivers. The flood of waiver applications submitted to the bureau in the past few weeks suggests that many breeders did not complete the necessary work. The flood of Pennsylvania dogs on the auction markets in the midwest suggests many are downsizing to get under the 59-dog threshold, or getting out of the business altogether.

Some breeders may have been relying on a favorable ruling in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new dog law. But that suit was thrown out last month by U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo.

For thousands of smaller licensed kennels (those with between 26 and 59 dogs), however, the old standards remain. 

State dog wardens will be deployed starting today to inspect commercial kennels to ensure compliance and those who are found in violation may receive citations or could lose their licenses, according to the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. A federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by breeders challenging the constitutionality of the new dog law.

Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, said the stricter standards - widely regarded as the toughest in the nation - will significantly improve conditions for thousands of dogs living in kennels.

Bob Baker, an animal welfare advocate who helped draft the original Pennsylvania dog law almost 30 years ago, said "the dogs have been waiting 27 years for this day to come."

"Ever since the original Dog Law was passed in 1982 and advocates were told by the legislature this is all we can give you this year but you can come back next year to increase the standards of care," said Baker, now an investigator with the ASPCA. "Well it has been a 27 year wait for the dogs. There is no excuse for non-compliance by the breeders. They have had a free pass for 27 years to confine their dogs in tiny wire cages stacked one on top of another in dark, filthy, ammonia-filled barns."

Under an amendment pushed through by farming interests, kennel owners were given the opportunity to apply for waivers to allow up to three years additional time to improve their kennels if they showed they had made substantial improvements or could prove hardship. Justin Fleming, a spokesman for the bureau, said 93 waiver request had been submitted by the Oct. 9 deadline and decisions had been made so far on 23 applications. Fleming said he could not provide information on how many of those waivers had been granted and that the information could only be released through a right-to-know request.

The law stipulates that anyone convicted of violating the dog law in the past five years is not eligible for a waiver. A review of court records shows that 76 Lancaster kennel operators have either pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of dog law violations during that time period.

A number of kennels are either downsizing to get below the 59-dog threshold or going out of business. Nearly 400 dogs - mainly toy breeds - belonging to eight Pennsylvania commercial kennel owners were sold at an Ohio auction on Wednesday. Others are placing their unproductive breeding dogs or "surplus stock" through a program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association and the Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania. The Department of Agriculture said it is not "endorsing" the "amnesty" program, but it is distributing the information and the surrender contract to breeders through its dog wardens. (More on the Safe Harbor program tomorrow) There also have been reports of some commercial kennel owners shooting their dogs, which is illegal under the new law.